The Pioneer men's basketball team was edged out on the road by Cal State L.A. on January 31st, 89-79. Cal State East Bay (7-12, 4-9 CCAA) has dropped six of its last seven and is still in search of its first road win in conference play (0-6). Senior Gabe Kindred finished with 12 points and set a school record with his 128th made free throw of the season, a mark that leads the conference.

Four Pioneers scored in double figures, led by junior Nick Grieves with 19 points. Both he and Jacari Whitfield, who notched 18 points, were hot from behind the arc, hitting four triples each. Fellow junior Jarred Jourdan came off the bench to post 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

"We stuck together as a team and fought extremely hard for 40 minutes," aid head coach Gus Argenal. "Coach Thompson and his team did a great job of scoring off turnovers and offensive rebounding the entire night."

It was a tight high-scoring contest, as both teams shot well in the first half and went into the break knotted at 33-33. The Golden Eagles jumped out to lead in the second half, but the Pioneers made a run of their own thanks to some strong outside shooting.

The game was tied 66-66 after Whitfield knocked down his fourth three-pointer, but CSULA answered with a pair of buckets to regain the lead for good, and they hit enough free throws to hold off the Pioneers down the stretch.

CSUEB shot well for the game at 46.6 percent, but Cal State L.A. (11-6, 8-5 CCAA)Êas even better at 51.5 percent and had a substantial rebounding advantage, 39-31. The Pioneers also struggled to contain Quinton Watkins (26 points) and Duce Zaid (24 points) on the defensive end.